It sounds like an all-comedy radio station.

But W.L.A.F. stands for one of the more intriguing experiments in sports history: the World League of American Football, the first trans-Atlantic major sports league.

It is a league created as much on Madison Avenue as in the Park Avenue offices of the National Football League. And it is here. It opened last night in Frankfurt, Germany; Birmingham, Ala., and Sacramento, Calif. ABC kicks off its network coverage today by traveling to Barcelona, Spain, where the New York/New Jersey Knights play. And tomorrow night, the USA cable network will televise San Antonio at Orlando.

The helmets and uniforms have been designed with an eye toward retail sales. Thus, the silver-and-black that helps the Los Angeles Raiders of football and Los Angeles Kings of hockey to lead their leagues in hawking jackets and caps has been assigned to the Knights, who have added a touch of gold.

Indeed, each of the logos in the 10-team W.L.A.F. has been designed by the league and doled out to individual clubs: the Knights, the Birmingham Fire, the Orlando Thunder, the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks, the Sacramento Surge, the San Antonio Riders in the States; the Montreal Machine in Canada and the Barcelona Dragons, Frankfurt Galaxy, and London Monarchs in Europe.

Although each franchise costs $11 million (payable over two years), the new league actually is being underwritten by the N.F.L. Only the Chicago Bears and the Phoenix Cardinals refused to kick in, so to speak, to get the W.L.A.F. off the ground.

By creating the new entity, with salaries paid by the league and not individual clubs (only a few players will earn as much as $100,000), the N.F.L. has been able to do away with the threat of a rival spring league that could jack up existing salaries. As important, though, is the potential opening of new worldwide markets keyed to licensing and television sales.

But overseas television revenue for the N.F.L. lags behind merchandise sales. It has reached about $3 million. By going into key European markets now, the N.F.L. hopes to nurture the seeds for many more viewers who would watch American-style football.

Thus, the World League. It also fills a television void in the States: the March-April-May Sunday afternoons that ABC, for example, would like to program with fare that might gain higher ratings. In fact, ABC and NBC proposed a spring league idea to the N.F.L. two years ago.

ABC has paid the World League about $24 million for two years. It will televise a game-of-the-week Sunday afternoons. The USA network will pay about $26 million for the first two years of its four-year deal. In return, USA will televise all the remaining games, except those played between two European teams in Europe. The cable network's games will be on Saturday and Monday nights, which will include a game-of-the-week for the 56 million homes that have the service. In addition, it will have regional games of more limited interest.

The league has been able to start fresh with several innovative rules. They are designed for speed and for viewer interest, and include the following:

* Mandatory no-huddle offenses with 35 seconds between plays.

* In overtime, a team must score at least 6 points to gain an outright decision. In other words, a team scoring first with a field goal does not automatically win. At the end of the period, though, the team with more points wins.

* No instant replay.

* Two-point conversions.

* Communication between the sideline and the quarterback will be broadcast over the air.

Will it work?

If enthusiasm matters, it has a chance. Just listen to Robert F. X. Sillerman, the Knights' owner (and also 50 percent owner of radio station WNEW): "I'm going to make a wild statement. Twenty years from now we'll be here and people will be talking about whether the top draft pick will go to us or the N.F.L. Our television revenue will be greater than the N.F.L.'s."

Chart: "Dragons, Fire and Monarchs, etc." Barcelona Dragons Coach: Jack Bicknell. Spent last 10 seasons as head coach of Boston College. Key player: Paul Palmer, ex-1st-round runner for Kansas City Chiefs. Stadium: Montjuic (70,000). Birmingham Fire Coach: Chan Gailey. Former Broncos' offensive coordinator. Key player: Brent Pease, first quarterback chosen, former Seahawks' back-up. Stadium: Legion Field (72,000). Frankfurt Galaxy Coach: Jack Elway. Ex-head coach of Stanford and San Jose State; father of Broncos' John Elway. Key players: Quarterback Mike Perez, former Giants' seventh-round pick. Stadium: Waldstadion (55,000). London Monarchs Coach: Larry Kennan. Was Colts' offensive coordinator last two seasons. Key player: Running back Judd Garrett, one of the three Garrett brothers from Princeton now in World League. Stadium: Wembley (63,500). Montreal Machine Coach: Jacques Dussault. Key player: Ex-Giants' kicker Bjorn Nittmo. Stadium: Olympic Stadium (61,000). N.Y./N.J. Knights Coach: Mouse Davis. Created "run-'n'-shoot" offense with Lions' as offensive coordinator the last two seasons. Key player: Quarterback Todd Hammel from Stephen F. Austin. Stadium: Giants Stadium (76,000). Orlando Thunder Coach: Don Matthews. Had extensive, successful career in Canadian League. Key player: Quarterback Kerwin Bell, former Florida star. Stadium: Florida Citrus Bowl (70,000). Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks Coach: Roman Gabriel. Former outstanding Rams and Eagles quarterback. Key player: Mark Maye, former North Carolina quarterback. Stadium: Carter-Finley Stadium (45,000). Sacramento Surge Coach: Kay Stephenson. Was N.F.L.'s youngest head coach as top man for Bills. Key player: Pete Najarian, former Tampa Bay linebacker. Stadium: Hughes Stadium (23,000). San Antonio Riders Coach: Mike Riley. Key players: Garrett brother tandem of Jason throwing to John. Stadium: Alamo Stadium (25,000). Drawings: Team helmets

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/24/sports/pro-football-live-from-barcelona-wlaf-s-kickoff-on-tv.html

Nice schedule. Burbage said the players love being in in February and out in June. Decent pay. Easily $40,000 for players who meet contract incentives. Pressure to win. But not at all like the pressure in the National Football League. Spirit and camaraderie. Because, Burbage and others say, so many of the athletes are enjoying football for the first time in their up-and-down careers.

But?

"The N.F.L. is my goal and it's everybody's goal that's here," said the 26-year-old Burbage, who played at Kentucky and then two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys before signing last year as a Plan B free agent with the Minnesota Vikings, who cut him in training camp. "They're talking about raising the salaries here next year but most of the guys don't want to be back here next year. I'd say 90 percent are like me and want to get back to their dream, to the N.F.L." Choosing the Players

It is also giving N.F.L. teams another way to add depth to their rosters, and correct mistakes made in evaluating players. It also, by N.F.L. standards, offers cheap labor.

"We did not go after the player who was right out of college but the ones who had some type of N.F.L. experience, the kid who teams felt had the talent but needed more time to develop," said Jerry Vainisi, the W.L.A.F. vice president of football management.

"Each year, of all the college senior players, 3,000 are evaluated; 1,000 receive grades; 336 are actually drafted and 150 actually make N.F.L. teams. That's 2,850 players available in each of the last couple of years and room for a lot of mistakes. We've got 360 players now in our league and I'd expect a third of them will sign with N.F.L. teams after our season."

That's 120 additional players for N.F.L. teams to scout and scour in training camps this summer. After the World Bowl -- the new league's championship game -- in London on June 9, all players in the World League are free to sign with any N.F.L. team. Compensation falls into two categories: for those who signed with the W.L.A.F. before Jan. 15, 1991 and those who signed afterward. The date was chosen to encourage players to sign with the W.L.A.F. The Rules on Signing

If a W.L.A.F. player who signed before Jan. 15 later signs with an N.F.L. team as a free agent and remains under contract with that team after Feb. 1, 1992, his rights are released to that team by the W.L.A.F. If he does not remain signed past Feb. 1, he owes the World League a two-year option on his playing rights.

For the player who signed with the W.L.A.F. after Jan. 15, the N.F.L. team that signs him must pay a lump sum double his base salary, with one-third of the money allotted to the player, one-third to the W.L.A.F. and one-third to his W.L.A.F. team. His rights are then released to his N.F.L. team, which would then negotiate a contract. The same rules apply in each case for players who might sign with the Canadian Football League.

Each N.F.L. team is allowed to send four players to the W.L.A.F. during the N.F.L. off season, but only the Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints did so, sending two apiece. The four are being paid the same base salary as any other W.L.A.F. players, along with incentive bonuses.

"It's been a mixed bag, something the N.F.L. is trying to work out, on what is here worth taking and should they be sending guys here for more work," Vainisi said. "Most teams wanted to keep their players away because of the injury factor. Others weren't sure of the style and caliber of play and if the league would help them. But I think we've answered the skeptics."

Chiefs quarterback Mike Elkins (Sacramento) and linebacker Tracey Simien (Montreal) and Saints cornerback Calvin Nickleson (San Antonio) and offensive lineman Bobby Sign (Barcelona) are the four N.F.L. players competing in the World League. Playing for 'All the Right Reasons'

"Marty Schottenheimer called me at home in North Carolina in January and explained that this was a chance for me to get some work in the off season that couldn't be duplicated," said Elkins, who was drafted by Kansas City in 1989 but has played sparingly.

"I understand what a lot of these guys here have been through in the N.F.L. You work on the scout teams in practice and in the preseason you might get five or six minutes or a quarter. That's too little time to show what you can do.

"Here you have a lot of guys playing the game for all the right reasons. They're having a lot of fun and they're putting out as much intensity as the guys in the big leagues. I see a lot of guys, talented people, who are going to develop in the right situation in the N.F.L."

"In our business," said Larry Wilson, the Phoenix Cardinals' general manager, "team preparation dictates that you don't get to spend as much time evaluating the players in training camp as you'd like. This is an excellent way for the ones on the bubble to show their abilities. There are guys there that fit needs of certain teams who are going to get a shot this summer. And, hey, if they're making $20,000, we'd gladly offer 'em $40,000."

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/05/sports/football-wlaf-seasoning-in-the-sun.html

N.F.L. owners met in Dallas last Wednesday to discuss the future of the W.L.A.F. They left the meeting uncertain about where the league is headed. The options discussed included continuing with the league in its current form, moving teams to larger television markets, suspending play for a year to reorganize or folding the league altogether.

It's my guess it's going down the chute," said one N.F.L. owner, who spoke on the condition that he not be identified. "It was much more of a financial failure than anybody realized it would be. And there doesn't appear to be any light at the end of the tunnel."

The World League is supported by the 26 N.F.L. clubs that invested $13 million to start the league and pledged another $15 million line of credit for its operation in May. Chicago and Phoenix are the two clubs that have never supported the World League.

Dan Rooney, the Pittsburgh Steelers' president and N.F.L. chairman for the World League, said that while the estimates on the cost of operating the league were "right on the mark," the estimates on how much revenue it would be generate were not accurate.

None of the league's 10 teams made a profit.

Reggie Williams, general manager of the New York/New Jersey Knights, said the league would survive, despite rumors of its demise.

"All new businesses, all new leagues go through a metamorphosis," Williams said. "There will probably be changes. But those changes will make the league stronger. The concept is very sound."

The biggest question facing the World League is whether ABC and the USA Network will continue to support the league beyond their two-year contracts.

The World League games on the USA Network averaged a 1.2 rating (646,000 television households) on the games that started at 8 P.M. and averaged a 0.8 rating (430,000 households) for the games starting at 2 P.M. One rating point for cable represents 567,000 households.

Mary Lou O'Callaghan, USA Network vice president of corporate and news media relations, said the cable network will honor the final year its contract. But she said the contract between the W.L.A.F. and USA would be void if the league is radically altered. ABC officials were unavailable for comment last week.

Rob Correa, USA Network director of sports acquisitions, said the network lost money on the World League. He would not say how much.

Correa said trying to line up advertisers for World League games will be tougher next season because of the low ratings.

"The bottom line in any television show is you have to give people a reason to watch," Correa said. He believes the league suffered from overexposure on television last year and needs to have some identifiable N.F.L. stars to increase its appeal to viewers.

Rooney said that between now and Sept. 12, members of the World League board of directors will meet with television executives, World League team owners and N.F.L. owners in an attempt to find a way to save the league. He doesn't expect a hard fight with the N.F.L. owners to keep the league afloat.

"There's a lot of room for improvement," Rooney said. "But every new league that starts up takes time to become successful. People don't remember how the N.F.L. got started. It was tough. Look at the American Football League. That product didn't improve until the second or third year."

For the first time, the N.F.L. has secured a line of credit worth about $300 million from two banks, Citibank and NCNB Corporation, so that teams can refinance existing debt. Ten teams have said that they will use the line of credit.

The banks were willing to give the league low interest rates because the risk is spread among more than one borrower.

Some of the teams, which were purchased in recent years, will be using the loans to refinance the huge debts that the owners incurred to acquire the clubs.

Joe Browne, N.F.L. vice president of communications and development, said the credit line is not a sign that some teams are in financial trouble. "We pool our resources to buy tape, airline tickets and rent cars," Browne said. "Why not pool our resources to get our money cheaper?"

Under the deal, each team will be able to borrow as much as $35 million, or the debt ceiling that has been established by the N.F.L. for each club. The collateral for the clubs' loans will be each team's annual share of the league's four-year, $3.64 billion television contract, which is about $32.5 million per club.

The television contract expires in February 1994 and the credit line also ends into 1994. There is concern on the part of some N.F.L. owners that the line of credit could encourage teams to go deeper into debt and lead to future bankruptcies. If the next television contract provides less money than the present one and teams have set a pattern of spending up to the debt ceiling, then some owners could be faced with cutting costs or going bankrupt.

"We can't predict what will happen in 1994," said Thomas Sullivan, the league's treasurer. "If the advertising market turns around and the European markets start to boom, who knows what the next television contract will be worth. It's so speculative that we can't address that right now."

EXTRA POINT

Practice squads have been approved again for N.F.L. teams this season, after an agreement between the league and a group of attorneys representing players who filed a lawsuit against the N.F.L. Each team will have three to five inactive players at a minimum salary of $3,200 a week ($200 more than last year). Teams must spend a minimum of $280,000 and a maximum of $375,000.

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/25/sports/football-notebook-initials-for-wlaf-may-soon-be-rip.html